tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10940065930830680352024-03-17T23:00:44.932-04:00Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 FloodFreebies from The 1937 Flood, West Virginia's Most Eclectic String Band! The Flood, the Original Old Boy Band, has been around since the 1970s playing their own brand of mountain music, from blues and jugband to swing and traditional folk. These podcasts feature Flood Freebies, recordings captured on the fly, as it were, at the Flood's weekly jam sessionsThe 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.comBlogger635125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-88768398251440464042024-03-15T05:19:00.001-04:002024-03-15T05:19:23.651-04:00"I Almost Lost My Mind"<p> Some songs in our repertoire we do only when “The Chick Singer” — Floodster emerita Michelle Hoge — is in the room. Our take on this good old Ivory Joe Hunter classic is at the top of that list. This track is from last December when Michelle had driven in from her Cincinnati area home to rehearse with us in preparation for our big “Flood at 50” New Year’s Eve birthday bash at Alchemy Theatre. Just listen to Michelle rocking those vocal harmonies, as always.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-23840161071190642262024-03-08T06:12:00.002-05:002024-03-08T06:12:34.013-05:00"Handy Man"<p> You never really forget the songs of your youth. Charlie was 10 years old in the summer of ‘59 when this tune hit the radio. It was such a hoot to take it for a spin at a recent Flood rehearsal.<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-56548565163174524212024-03-01T05:59:00.001-05:002024-03-01T05:59:06.198-05:00"Make You Feel My Love"<p> We’re late to the party on this tune. Bob Dylan wrote this more than a quarter of century ago, but we just started doing it a few weeks ago. However, it’s suddenly landed solidly in the repertoire. Here’s our take on “Make You Feel My Love.”</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-19470799391051942842024-02-23T06:32:00.003-05:002024-02-23T06:32:47.586-05:00"Needed Time"<p> We’ve been doing this song for a very long time, and it’s always different, depending on who’s in the room. In this rendition from a rehearsal a few weeks ago, our man Danny Cox makes it special with his signature guitar stylings.<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-78272181997804576352024-02-16T05:24:00.001-05:002024-02-16T05:24:12.689-05:00'St. Louis Blues"<p> The Flood has been doing versions of this song for decades. This rendition was the first song of the evening at a Flood rehearsal a few weeks ago. Riding on the infectious rhythm laid down by Randy Hamilton and Jack Nuckols and framing the solos by Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair, the number heralded a particularly fun evening at the Bowen house.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-32794492513045314172024-02-09T07:03:00.001-05:002024-02-09T07:03:14.706-05:00"Ready for the Times to Get Better"<p> This song took a very long road on its journey to Floodlandia. The first time it was played in our band room was more than a dozen years ago on a mellow autumn night when our friends Randy Hamilton and Paul Martin dropped in to jam with us. Now, neither was a member of The Flood yet — Randy would join the following year and Paul a few years after that — but their song was the hit of the evening. However, the tune never worked its way into the repertoire — until just recently. A couple of weeks ago, Danny Cox just happened to start picking the tune between songs on the night’s practice list and the melody really jingled in our memories. After that, Dan and Randy got together to woodshed a little, working out an arrangement, and at last week’s rehearsal they popped it on the rest of us. With joy, everybody joined in.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-10260224810130115902024-02-02T06:15:00.001-05:002024-02-02T06:15:20.035-05:00Sweet Georgia Brown<p> “Sweet Georgia Brown” entered The Flood’s repertoire soon after the band began in the 1970s and in the ensuing decades the tune has come back into the playlist again and again, serving as a sweet showcase for dozens of Flood soloists over the years. This latest rendition, recorded at a rehearsal just last week, has Danny Cox, Randy Hamilton, Sam St. Clair and Jack Nuckols all taking the tune for a spin.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-69717741444928439402024-01-26T06:21:00.002-05:002024-01-26T06:21:34.320-05:00Ain't No Free<p> It was 15 years ago when Sam St. Clair brought us this tune, and it quickly became his theme song. Ever since then, “Ain’t No Free” has been a beloved standard in many a Flood show. So, of course, the song had to have a place in honor several weeks ago at our big New Year’s Eve birthday bash at Alchemy Theatre.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-11424558895820953442024-01-19T05:15:00.001-05:002024-01-19T05:15:07.411-05:00(When She Wants Good Lovin') My Baby Comes to Me<p> Here’s a tune with some mighty deep roots in the Floodisphere. Two decades after our heroes, The Coasters, released this song in July 1957, The Flood started fiddling with it on another summer night. After that, though, it went to sleep again for, oh, a half century or so. Then not long ago, it popped back into our minds. Right away, Randy Hamilton started singing harmony on the chorus. Suddenly the song is back, evolving into a fine vehicle for Jack Nuckols’ cool drumming and tasty solos by Danny Cox and everyone else in the room. Even visiting pickers. For instance, on this track, Floodster Emeritus Paul Martin dropped in with his mandolin. Just listen to how slowly he jumped right into the mix!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-75607447443782153572024-01-12T06:10:00.000-05:002024-01-12T06:10:05.479-05:00'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"<p> Whenever our old friend Paul Martin is back in the room — or, better still, on the bandstand with us, as he was for our big “Flood at 50” big birthday bash — we always get him to take us on a ride on is favorite Bob Dylan tune. <br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-33509387343378710152024-01-05T06:20:00.001-05:002024-01-05T06:20:14.282-05:00"Sunny"<p> Ever since it came together decades ago, The Flood has always sought a rich diversity in its repertoire. So late last year when Danny Cox asked, “Has the band ever done the song ‘Sunny’?” he heard an invitation in the enthusiasm of the answer: “no.” So, Danny worked out the chords, Jack took up the rhythm, we turned the vocals over to Randy, and suddenly the song is in the works. In fact, it’s even picking up fans among the visitors. On this particular track, for instance, Floodster Emeritus Paul Martin happened to be in the room and happily took a ride on one of the choruses. Here’s the progress report, then, on Project Sunny.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-1666816786081780302023-12-29T07:44:00.001-05:002023-12-29T07:44:31.174-05:00"Raise a Ruckus Tonight"<p> Here’s a tune we always trot out whenever we feel a party coming on. So you can bet we’ll have it on the set list this weekend for our big “Flood at 50” birthday bash on New Year’s Eve at Alchemy Theatre. That’s a night we’re so eager for that we actually started putting this song through its paces earlier this month. For instance, here’s our take on the tune from a joyous night at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland just a few weeks ago. Remember, we’re at Alchemy Theatre this Sunday night, 69 Holley Avenue in the beautiful hills of Huntington, WV. The birthday bash starts at 7:30 and runs all the way to the champagne toast to the new year at midnight. All the details are on our new website: Floodat50.com. Come on out. We’re going share memories — and make a whole bunch of new ones!<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-55405757062426194582023-12-22T06:29:00.000-05:002023-12-22T06:29:07.449-05:00Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas<p> Okay, we have a Christmas confession to make. Honestly, we don’t really care that much for Christmas music. Oh, we’re not scrooges or anything — well, a few of us are — but it’s mainly it’s just the nature of Christmas songs themselves. The chord patterns are not especially easy to remember and since you only them for a week or two every year, you don’t ever get a chance to get cozy with them. Plus, well, frankly Christmas tunes generally don’t swing. (Try to put a beat behind “Little Town of Bethlehem” and there will be repercussions….) But here’s one that does fit the Flood groove nice, especially with the merriest of our merry band — Danny Cox and Floodster Emeritus Michelle Hoge — leading the way. We hope you DO have yourself a merry little Christmas.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-44782126649110551502023-12-15T06:11:00.001-05:002023-12-15T06:11:08.650-05:00You Got Me Slippin'<p> When we roll in tomorrow night for our latest gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in
Ashland, Ky., we’re bringing with us one of our all time favorite party
tunes. The song we call “You Got Me Slippin’” is loosely based on a
classic Jimmy Reed tune from 65 years ago at the dawn of rock ’n’ roll. </p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-80903932520628978212023-12-08T06:12:00.002-05:002023-12-08T06:12:54.486-05:00My Dear Companion<p> Nominally, this is a traditional song about abandoned love, but back in the 1960s when she reworked it, the late Jean Ritchie wrote new lyrics that went well beyond that to the larger theme of loss in general. Because of those deeper expressions, The Flood has often thought of this tune in times of our darkest grief, and we’ve even sung it at more than one graveside. So, it’s only natural for us to be thinking of it again these days with death of our own dear companion, Doug Chaffin. He absolutely loved playing this song. So, here’s to you, Doug.<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-54863716340132992352023-12-01T06:15:00.002-05:002023-12-01T06:15:46.112-05:00"Good as I Been to You (You Gonna Quit Me Blues)"<p>We started doing the song in the mid-1990s, right after we heard it on a then-new Bob Dylan album. We were looking for an easy, happy little tune that we can warm up on, letting everybody just stretch out a little. Well, nowadays it just as likely to turn up as a last song of the night — as it was here at a recent rehearsal — putting a bow on a great evening of music. <br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-56752501220234571162023-11-24T06:21:00.003-05:002023-11-24T06:21:49.855-05:00But Not for Me<p>It’s a kind of counter-love song — a great anthem to angst — and George Gershwin’s “But Not For Me” was ahead of its time. He and his brother Ira wrote the thing in 1930 for a popular stage musical called “Girl Crazy.” But it didn’t make the Billboard charts until a dozen years later — after George’s death, in fact — when Harry James and his orchestra got to Number 12 with it. Last week was The Flood’s first fling with the tune. See what you think. <br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-60883935302122151812023-11-17T06:12:00.002-05:002023-11-17T06:12:49.683-05:00"July, You're a Woman"<p> Charlie played this song for Dave Peyton on the first night they jammed together at a New Year’s Eve party 50 years ago. It was the one of the best tunes in their repertoire for their earliest gigs. After that, though, the song dropped out of the mix for many decade, but the one night this fall — help! — it came wandering back. On this track from a recent rehearsal, Charlie’s on banjo, Jack’s on bongos, Randy’s singing harmony and Danny’s playing those sweet, sweet solos.<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-37250819799895485652023-11-10T06:01:00.003-05:002023-11-10T06:01:55.189-05:00"Birth of the Blues"<p> We have several new tunes to bring tomorrow night for our latest gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland, Ky., including this one that the great Ray Henderson wrote almost a hundred years ago. This song was first recorded by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in the mid-1920s, but its real claim to fame came 15 years later when it was the title tune for a beloved Bing Crosby movie that was released on the eve of America’s entry into World War II. Here’s “Birth of the Blues.”</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-65566118157735497632023-11-03T05:36:00.003-04:002023-11-03T05:36:45.098-04:00"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You"<p> There’s a reason why The Flood’s rendition of this Dylan classic sounds different from Bobby’s version — or anyone else’s take on the tune, for that matter. That’s because back in the early 1980s, when Roger and Charlie started playing around with opening chord progression here, they thought they were writing an original song of their own. But then Rog and his family moved away — leaving West Virginia for the green hills of Kentucky — and the piece they were working on was left an orphan. It didn’t even have a name or the first hints of a lyric. Only a year or so later, when Charlie was noodling with it at a jam session did Dave Peyton say, “Hey, you know what? If you tweaked the chords a bit and added the bridge, you could sing that Dylan thing over that!” And right there and then, an arrangement was born, and we’ve been playing it like this ever since.<br /><br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-49222347600515277352023-10-27T06:17:00.001-04:002023-10-27T06:17:30.574-04:00Jelly Roll Baker<p> This sassy Lonnie Johnson song was written and recorded 80 years ago as a rhythm and blues hit, but we owe our version to our folk music heroes of the 1960s. To this day, it’s one of those perfect warmup tunes for us, because it provides plenty of stretching-out room for solos by everyone in the house, Danny and Sam, Randy and Jack.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-24028964712053591332023-10-20T06:39:00.002-04:002023-10-20T06:39:44.775-04:00Yas Yas Duck<p> Wow, Jack Nuckols’ drumming has brought a whole new class of cool to the old band room. Whether it’s his tasty solos, or rocking along with Randy Hamilton’s bass under Charlie Bowen’s vocals, or making his wise and witty contributions to the ensemble supporting Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair’s solos, Jack’s rhythms have got us all wanting to get up and dance. Just listen to what he brings to this old hokum song from the late 1920s.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-79069148875109489412023-10-13T05:50:00.001-04:002023-10-13T05:50:10.854-04:00Don't Think Twice, It's All Right<p> This Bob Dylan classic has been in the Floodisphere forever — Roger and Charlie used to sing it together a half century ago — but only recently has it made a move to be in the regular repertoire. That’s when Randy stepped to sing his signature harmonies and Danny and Sam started doing double duty on the solos.</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-11992564811701459482023-10-06T05:55:00.000-04:002023-10-06T05:55:10.680-04:00Opus One<p> It’s the end of a fun evening at the Bowen house, but nobody is quite ready to quit yet. Jack starts padding a cool swing rhythm on the house bongos and Randy jumps in with a bass line that fits it to a T. Charlie gets the chords going, just as Danny flies in with that cool melody over Sam’s smooth harmonica fills. Now, it’s a tune that’s not really in our repertoire. It’s more like an old friend who drops by way too infrequently, but when he does, everyone in the room is happy to see him. Here’s “Opus One.”<br /><br /></p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1094006593083068035.post-32923865981884403962023-09-29T07:11:00.001-04:002023-09-29T07:11:07.304-04:00"Tear It Down"<p> When our friend, the remarkable percussionist Jack Nuckols, dropped in to visit with the band last week, we immediately drew him into the circle. First, we passed him the house bongos to play, but when a jug band tune came around, we put spoons in his hands. Jack was rocking it hard, we were digging on those rhythmic riffs and just as we were fixing to turn it over to him for a solo, darned if those spoons didn’t break in his hands. Now, Jack was apologetic, but — as you’ll hear — we all thought it was a hoot! What better way to end a song called, “Tear It Down”?</p>The 1937 Floodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516546576576714538noreply@blogger.com0